Iguazu Falls

September 24, 2016

We've been staying at Tetris, a hostel made entirely from recycled shipping containers. There's a VW camper parked in the garden and a sweet little dog named Hurley bounding around the place. Anyone who knows me will understand when I say that this place is what my dreams are made of.

We've spent the last few days here as it's right by Iguazu Falls, one of the worlds most impressive waterfalls. On Tuesday morning we arrived at the hostel after a 14 hour journey and immediately caught a bus to Iguazu Falls on the Brazilian side. The falls are on the border of Brazil and Argentina and need to be seen from both sides in order to be appreciated in full.

We arrived at the falls and were completely taken aback by their sheer size, the amount of water cascading was incomprehensible. We walked along the walkway that juts out in front of the falls, the mist soaked everything it touched. The sky was a flawless shade of blue with not a cloud in sight, rays of sunlight caused beautiful rainbows. We walked along the trail stopping to watch the quati' steal people's food and hear the rumble of water.

The next day we joined an organised tour to cross the border into Argentina and see the falls from another perspective. We caught a little train in the national park and found ourselves at the rivers edge. Thousands of bright butterflies were circling around, attracted to the minerals in the soil. We walked along a walkway over the river for 15 minutes until we were up close with Garganta del Diablo or Devil's Throat. The wind caused massive clouds of mist to bellow up, soaking everything including my camera. There were screams as the cold water hit people's bare skin. After, we walked along a trail over the tops of the falls, perfect rainbows gave a magical feeling to the area and each viewpoint offered something different. The falls were probably the most beautiful natural sight I've seen.

The cherry on top of a brilliant day was our boat ride to see the falls up close. The boat raced towards the mist and got so close that we were all completely drenched, a wave hit Craig square in the face, it was hilarious.

While staying in Foz do Iguaçu we also visited the Buddhist Temple which was beautifully peaceful and enjoyed the hostels sun deck and pool. Next stop: Paraguay.

🎥 Brazil and Iguazu Falls video:

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Florianópolis, Brazil

September 21, 2016

After twelve long hours on an overnight coach we finally arrived in Florianópolois, south of São Paulo. Two more buses and a short walk followed before we found our hostel - Gecko. Despite our tiredness we went for a walk along the Lagoa stopping for a picnic on the lake shore. We decided to keep walking, up and over a hill to get to Mole beach, a surfers paradise. The temperature was a lot lower than what we were used to, after watching the surfers and waves crashing we decided to walk back and had dinner at a vegetarian food truck that we found earlier.

On our first full day on the island we decided to join other hostel guests for a hike. We took the bus to Barra da Lagoa and started the trail, we were so lucky to see dolphins swimming just off shore. The trail was made up of steep sections requiring rope and walking through what felt like the jungle! We made it to the top of fantastic viewpoints and after a couple hours of walking we made it to Praia da Galheta; a pristine beach. After a beer and cocktail stop at Mole beach we headed home for dinner at the truck stop and had vegan burgers from Ahimsa.

On day two we decided to go on another hike to make the most of the clear weather, we found a trail along the Lagoa and walked for a few hours before coming across a waterfall. We dipped our feet in the freezing water to refresh then bought coconut and white chocolate sweets from a lovely lady's stall. After, we found a little pier and caught a boat back to town costing just R$7.50 each, under £2.00. For dinner we went to our favourite place the truck stop and indulged in more delicious food.

Rain, thunder and more rain. As predicted Sunday was a bit of a wash out. We had a slow morning then went to see turtles at a sanctuary a bus ride away, after feeding the turtles we headed back and booked the next leg of our journey, a 14 hour coach ride to Foz do Iguaçu. The next day we packed our bags and aimlessly wandered around the town and along the lake shore, gearing up for another long coach journey ahead.

🎥 Brazil and Iguazu Falls video:

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São Paulo, Brazil

September 15, 2016

We arrived in São Paulo after a six hour coach ride through spectacular Brazilian landscape; mountains, forests and small towns. We took the metro to our district and checked in to our new hostel Mama Brasil. After leaving our bags in our *tiny* six bed dorm room we went out for dinner. We had delicious tacos, tortilla chips with guacamole and chocolate and dulce de leche churros from a street vendor.

Our stay in the city was going to be very short so we woke early to see as much as we could. We took the metro to the central district to go up to the observation deck of one of the tallest skyscrapers in the city, unfortunately it was closed, apparently opening at 12pm. Undeterred we rode the metro back to our district and walked to the Museum of Art São Paulo, luckily and without realising it the museum was free entry for today and so we saved ourselves R$25 (approx £6) - much appreciated as our daily budget for everything is R$130. The museum wasn't huge but featured lots of big names, Valazquez, Goya, Degas, Van Gogh, Picasso and my favourite; Monet. The installation of the paintings was unique, each was presented on a wooden base with a glass sheet so you could see the backs of the canvas and eliminate internal gallery walls.

After the museum we went back to the skyscraper and after some confusion made it to the top. Once there we were told that they no longer allowed viewing from the terrace but after a little plea we were allowed a few minutes to see the views. Buildings as far as the eye could see were laid out before us, I've seen some cities in my time but none like this. The scale was breathtaking.

After, we made our way to the arty quarter Vila Madelena, we got lost as we usually do but eventually found an authentic looking place for lunch. Film and music posters adorned the walls and the place was filled with locals enjoying the fare. We ordered a type of cheese filled pasta which looked more like a pancake covered in tomato sauce and filled our plates with the vegetarian buffet, it was delicious. For dessert we found Bacio di Latte, an award winning gelateria. The gelato was pure heaven and we enjoyed the atmosphere of the place as they had park benches dotted around inside with huge plants so it felt like sitting in a park.

After a stop to photograph some street art we made our way back to the centre and walked along Paulista Avenue before heading back to the hostel to organise onward travel and the next accomodation.

The next day we walked to the huge park and spent a few hours wandering around the lakes and trees trying to forget that we had a 12 hour coach ride ahead.

🎥 Brazil and Iguazu Falls video:

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